How to teach study skills in middle school

Why this matters

A 7th grader can fill a page with neat notes, highlight every line, and reread the page twice the night before the quiz. The page looks familiar, so she feels ready, and then the quiz asks a question she can't answer without the notes in front of her. The teacher sees the notes only when she hands them in, if ever, and finds out on quiz day who studied by rereading.

Study skills for middle school that research supports

Dunlosky and colleagues reviewed ten common study techniques in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Practice testing and distributed practice, which means spreading study over several sessions, got the only "high utility" ratings, because they "benefit learners of different ages and abilities." Highlighting and rereading were rated low: "Most students report rereading and highlighting, yet these techniques do not consistently boost students' performance" (Dunlosky et al., 2013; APS summary).

1. Have students turn their notes into questions
2. Have them answer the questions with the notes covered, then check
3. Spread the quizzing over several days before the test

A teacher can teach these steps to a whole class, but can't read 30 sets of notes and tell each student what to change before the quiz. In the Flint activity, each student uploads a photo or PDF of their own notes, and Sparky's feedback comes from what is on that student's page, unlike a worksheet with the same questions for everyone.

Sparky gets Leila to quiz herself instead of rereading

Every student gets the same instructions and uploads their own notes. Sparky's feedback, which arrives after the student submits, is about that student's page. Sparky does not chat during the upload.

Sparky works from Leila's own notesSparky names the habit to changeSparky sends Leila to quiz herself

L

Leila

Interest: Drawing and doodling in the marginsStarting point: Copies notes word for word and highlights everything

Leila

these are my notes from social studies on the causes of the american revolution. i copied everything from the slides and highlighted all the important parts so i can reread them before the quiz friday

Sparky

You connected colonial reactions to the acts, like noting that colonists boycotted British goods in response to the Townshend Acts and said "no taxation without representation" after the Stamp Act.

Sparky

Right now, you mentioned that you copied everything from the slides. ...if everything is highlighted, does anything really stand out? Try picking just the 3 most important causes and starring them.

Sparky

Then cover your notes and try to answer from memory.

Got feedback on her own notes, with a plan to quiz herself before Friday

Leila is an example student, and Sparky's feedback is shortened. Sparky also graded her notes Developing on the activity's rubric, "Notes ready for self-testing".

What Flint did for Leila

• Sparky read the acts and dates on Leila's uploaded page and praised the line where she wrote down how colonists reacted to the Townshend Acts.
• When Leila said she highlighted all the important parts, Sparky asked whether anything stands out and told her to star the 3 most important causes.
• Sparky's follow-up told her to turn each act on her page into a question and answer it with her notes covered, instead of rereading.

A teacher can't do this by hand for 30 students, and Sparky does it on every student's upload.

The activity page shows who is still copying the slides

Each student's upload appears in the Submissions table with its file and the grade Sparky gave on the rubric. After three or more students submit, activity analytics lists what the class did well, where the notes fall short, and a follow-up to practice next.

Set up the activity for free

Open the study skills activity in Flint's public library, select Use activity to copy it into a free Flint account, and assign it to a class. Students select Submit work, upload a photo or PDF of their notes, and press Submit. Keep Auto-grading on in Grading and feedback so Sparky grades each upload against the rubric. To spread the quizzing out, assign the activity again after the next lesson's notes.

For more test prep activities, see Flint for test prep.